The Chicago Bulls are preparing for the reality of a rebuild.
The first day of NBA training camp is often a day for promises to be made (and, for the most part, broken). Players explain how they lost or gained 10 pounds. Coaches articulate a plan to build a winning culture. Teams swear this is their year to compete, to exceed expectations, to break through whatever barrier held them back in prior seasons.
But during Monday’s media day at the United Center, executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham swore a different vow for the Chicago Bulls. Graham did not promise wins. He admitted that the upcoming season will be hard. Yet despite the high stakes and low expectations surrounding this team, Graham ensured the Bulls will improve this season by finally committing fully to a rebuild.
“Just because the word ‘rebuild’ is out there doesn’t mean this can’t be fun,” Graham said. “This is going to be a fun time. It’s going to be an exciting time. This foundation is being laid brick by brick to bring a championship back to the city of Chicago. Raising that banner, it keeps me up at night — and I know it does (coach Tiago Splitter) as well. We’re ready for this challenge.”
This is new for the Bulls. For years, this franchise ran away from concepts such as rebuilding, clinging to a range of buzzwords like “continuity” and “competitiveness” while remaining mired in the Eastern Conference’s lower middle class. The novelty of Monday’s media day shouldn’t come as a surprise for a team insistent on change. The Bulls are attempting to chart a new course with new leadership under Graham, a new coaching staff behind Tiago Splitter and a new star in No. 4 draft pick Caleb Wilson. Five of the seven men who spoke Monday to the media were not on the roster or staff last year, a reflection of a true season of change.
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One of Monday’s most notable changes, however, didn’t take place at the dais in front of reporters — it came from slightly stage left, where owner and CEO Michael Reinsdorf quietly observed the media day proceedings. Reinsdorf remained off to the side, tucked away next to a partition separating the news conference space from the media workroom. But his presence reflected a stated goal from ownership to engage more consistently with the team this season after the failures of the Artūras Karnišovas administration.
This engagement will coincide with a period of growing pains for the Bulls. The first year of a rebuild requires a steep investment in player development, typically at the cost of a winning record. Graham describes this ethos as “not mortgaging the future for short-term gains.” And even for competitive players like third-year forward Matas Buzelis, this methodology has clearly taken hold for the upcoming season.
“People, when they hear rebuild, it kind of scares them,” Buzelis said. “But I’m more in the mindset that I want to get better every day. Our team wants to get better every day for our fans. We’re going to compete every single night — that’s what I promise you we’re going to do, every single night. … A rebuild is a rebuild. I know with this group, Bryson, Tiago, we can do special things. And it might take some time, but I know we’ll get there.”
For now, the Bulls roster is clearly built for change. Outside of the young core, the main additions to this year’s roster are the veteran trio of Nic Claxton, Norman Powell and Buddy Hield. Graham doesn’t feel that he checked every box over the summer, but he’s confident in the final product for the Bulls — a team clearly focused on the development of first- through third-year stars, balanced by a complementary blend of more veteran players.
While Graham acknowledged that he could have made swings for younger players or taken on dead money for other teams, he felt the current dynamic matched most closely with the team’s goals for the first year of the rebuild.
“It’s better to develop with a more competent roster,” Graham said.
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The Bulls will continue to assess the roster throughout the season, with particular attention paid at the trade deadline for opportunities to acquire future assets or improve draft standing. Players like Powell or Hield could potentially be movable assets at that window; but for now, Graham emphasized that these players are valued as locker room leaders who can shape the culture of the rebuilt roster.
This is the versatility required for a team in flux. Graham and Splitter believe the Bulls will be a better team by the end of the 2026-27 season. But winning will likely have to wait another year — something this team is prepared to weather over the next 82 games.
“I know the fans, you guys, everybody wants to see that column with the W on it and have a lot of numbers on those,” Splitter said. “And we also want to have a lot of wins. But we’ve got to be patient. That’s what it takes. It takes time, it takes commitment and a lot of work from staff and players.”